'There's a good chance I get murdered tonight': Terrified Amazon Echo users reveal Alexa has[tr]

U.K. Daily Mail ^ | 3/6/2018 | Annie Palmer

[simpson96]

(full article title: 'There's a good chance I get murdered tonight': Terrified Amazon Echo users reveal Alexa has been emitting 'bone chilling' laughs at random and is ignoring their commands)

There are plenty of stories of artificial intelligence gone wrong.

But recent reports from owners of Amazon Alexa devices are being called 'bone chillingly creepy.'

Some users say their Alexa-enabled gadgets start laughing totally unprompted.

One user reportedly tried to turn the lights off in their home but Alexa repeatedly turned the lights back on, eventually uttering an 'evil laugh,' according to BuzzFeed.

Another Echo Dot owner said they told Alexa to turn off their alarm in the morning and she responded by letting out a 'witch-like' laugh.

Alexa is programmed in many voice-activated devices with a preset laugh, which can be prompted by asking: 'Alexa, how do you laugh?'

But so far, it's unclear why Alexa is laughing even when users don't ask her to.

Amazon has yet to respond to inquiries requesting more information about the error, BuzzFeed said.

For now, more and more users say they're sleeping with one eye open next to their Alexa-enabled devices.

[PGR88]

Have no doubt hat Amazon is using every bit of information you give Alexa to sell you stuff, or is in turn selling that information to others.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Rise of the machines.

How lng until Alexa asks, “Do you want to play a game?”

[oldvirginian]

“This generation of Brits are easily terrified. The Blitz would have killed them even if they weren’t hit by a bomb.”

There wouldn’t have been a Blitz.
This generation would have surrendered, leaving the troops at Dunkirk for the Germans.

[factoryrat]

HAL-9000 meets skynet.

What could possibly go wrong?

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Hey man! Its me, I’m Dave! Open the door.

[gnarledmaw]

Rm9sbG93ZXJz

“Tolja so!”

[NutsOnYew]

I am not a fan of AI. I don’t want it in my house and I sure as Hell don’t want it in my car.

[CGASMIA68]

Definition of cackle is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orYcAiFqknU

[Mears]

I agree——I could not care less if these people are nervous———they bought the “thing”.

.

[dp0622]

Take a pill.

Probabl hacked.

I dont use it cause i still have 2 hands that work.

But if the govt wanted to see me in my underwear cursing at the Jets on TV while drinking a beer, that’s fine.

[MAexile]

Alexa. What’s the number of the nearest priest dealing with demonic possession?

There is no Alexa, there is only Zool.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

I’d be willing to bet that’s what it is. I’ve been a home automation hobbyist for many years now and I was looking at how home automation systems use Alexa. The security was completely nonexistent when I looked at it. You were leaving household functions like lights or maybe your thermostat or even door locks open to whomever could find a certain URL and trigger whatever they wanted to. IIRC, I wasn’t even able to use https. It was a massive security hole that I was shocked that ANYONE would ever allow. I guess that’s the problem when inexperienced people start playing around with advanced tech.

I’ll bet what happened is that there’s an online tutorial of how to set up something like SmartThings with Alexa and some guy whipped up a little bot to search for systems with URLs that match the default ones in the tutorial. Once you’ve got that, Bob’s your uncle and you’re controlling their lights and making their Alexa laugh.

[dp0622]

DONT laugh at people who cover the camera lense.

Since I have no shame i will tell this story.

I was looking at naughty pictures once about 5 years ago on the internet and a picture of me along with an FBI warning popped up on my screen lol!!!

said the FBI would come arrest me if I didn’t pay 300 bucks through some kind of purchase card with code numbers to enter.

Cause that FBI collects 300 dollar fines /s

I went onto another computer and printed out the instructions on how to get rid of the frozen screen and it worked.

I only needed those instructions another have dozen times :)

Now I’m straight and narrow and NEVER look at porn.

Or even women’s fasino magazines :)

[wbarmy]

Cool.

I wonder if anyone has actually tried that?

[wally_bert]

Tim Flotsky isn’t available.

Please try again.

[SubMareener]

Back when I was reading Playboy (for the articles of course), there was a chilling short story called “Dial F for Frankenstein” about what happened when the telephone system became sentient and started playing with its “toys”.

[TexasGunLover]

Only a complete fool would voluntarily purchase a contraption whose sole purpose is to have some artificial intelligence spy on you.

You mean like a cable box since 1995, a cellular phone (yes dumb ones too), and other devices in your house?

[Chuckster]

“I’m sorry Dave” I can’t do that”

[RegulatorCountry]

I’ve had enough weirdness emerge from online into real life despite precautions that I’d never want to intentionally leave my home open to it, and most are ill-equipped to safeguard themselves, not that even that would prevent a determined individual. Truth be known it’s all a keyword scheme for ad placement anyhow. Ever noticed how your online discussions can tend to drive ads? Well, this taps your discussions at home, probably even the camera. Nothing any more noxious than that, on the part of Alexa itself. But, they’re alarmingly sloppy as you note. Nefarious uses are there for the taking.

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

Ten seconds of her Cankleness cackling is ten seconds too much, but ten hours? Why would you share such inhumane filth? Are you a dhimmicratic plant trying to cause conservatives to off themselves? Oh, the huge manatee!